Construction of an Octanuclear Zn(II)‐Yb(III) Schiff Base Complex for the NIR Luminescent Sensing of Nitrofuran Antibiotics.

Main observation and conclusion: One near‐infrared (NIR) luminescent octanuclear Zn(II)‐Yb(III) complex [Zn6Yb2L4(OAc)2(DMF)EtOH] (1) was obtained from a new multidentate Schiff base ligand. It exhibits interesting luminescent sensing activity to antibiotics, in particular to nitrofuran antibiotics (NFAs) with high sensitivity due to the inner filter effect. The NIR luminescence quenching constants and limits of the detection of the complex towards NFAs are 2.9 × 104—5.5 × 104 L/mol and 1.27—2.38 μmol/L, respectively. Its high luminescence sensitivity to NFAs is not changed with the existence of other antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]